St. John’s Episcopal Church
207 Albany Avenue, Kingston, NY 12401

The Good News of St. John’s

  1. September 29, 2022

    St. John’s Events This Week!

    We hope you will come out and for these community-building events at St. John’s. Service work, Christian learning, celebration, and reflection opportunities for people of all ages.
    Click here for a full list of upcoming St. John’s Events

    Sunday, Oct 2: Celebrating St. Francis
    We start the month of October off with All Ages Worship on Oct 2 at 10am – A specially designed worship service to help engage all parishioners, especially younger ones, through story and other activities during our 10:00 am worship. All parishioners are asked to bring your pet mementos, photos, and stuffed animals to church where we will ask God’s blessing on our beloved animals. Sorry, no live-pet blessings this year!

    Sunday, Oct 2: Parish-wide Workshop – The Impact of Gun Violence on Churches
    The increase of gun violence in our culture often results in a political discussion about gun rights. But how does this very real phenomenon impact our willingness to attend public activities and functions, like Christian worship? As people who follow Jesus, one who tells us to welcome the stranger in our midst, it is incredibly important for us to spend time discussing the specter of gun violence in our culture and the emotional toll it takes on us as churchgoers. Rev. Michelle and Sara Hutton will lead this special parish-wide workshop after worship on October 2.

    Click here to learn more about upcoming St. John’s Events so you can plan your time this fall.

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    All Ages Worship (AAW) – What is it and Why?


    Soon after I came to St. John’s, we decided to take a look at our Mission Statement so that we could approach our common life with a clear understanding of how we want to direct our resources. We came away with 5 active ways to do this. 1) Sharing our physical space and resources; 2) Being stewards of the arts; 3) Advocating for social justice; 4) Participating in inclusive and intergenerational worship; and 5) Affirming everyone has a place at God’s Table.

    I’d like to spend a little time discussing this 4th direction today. As we move into a new phase of the pandemic with the ability to return to a fuller sense of who we are as a worshipping community, we are reincorporating some very important aspects of our common life. Two of them are Godly Play and All Ages Worship. And I’m so excited for both of these to return!

    Godly Play is an amazing program that helps our younger people engage with the stories of scripture and of our Christian tradition in ways that they can take them more deeply into who they are becoming. It’s magical to watch kids participate in a lesson and continue to talk about it for days afterwards. And I’m incredibly grateful for the ministry of Leah Siuta who loves to help younger people learn about God through Godly Play. If you’re interested in helping with this ministry, by the way, talk to either Leah or myself.

    All Ages Worship (AAW) is another way to help our younger people engage but it’s more than that. It’s a way for all our people – young, old, middle years, and teens – to be together in worship. In this worship experience, we take our typical worship and use different forms to help us all hear things a little differently than we normally do. We may say a different confession or a different creed or a different set of prayers. We may have liturgical props to use during a part of the worship service. And we always have a story instead of a sermon.

    While it may be more familiar to us to have children in Sunday School while adults attend the full worship, I think it’s really important for all of us to know who we are as a worshipping community together. Children are not ancillary to the worshipping community. In fact, they are integral to who we are and, therefore, we are not a full worshipping community without their presence. Hopefully, AAW is a way for children to discover that worship is a joy-filled experience, where all can find ways to engage and all are fully welcome at God’s Table. And, as an adult, I also believe that we all learn more about the words and forms of our liturgy by hearing them or saying them a different way. You see, All Ages Worship is for all of us.

    Going forward, we will have AAW on the first Sunday of the month unless we announce otherwise. I hope you’ll come and bring the whole family as we all celebrate God’s Love together.

    In God’s love and mine,
    Rev. Michelle

    ___________________________________________

    Announcements for the Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost
    October 2, 2022

    THIS SUNDAY! Parish-wide Workshop: The Impact of Gun Violence on Churches This workshop is designed to help us all discuss the impact of gun violence on the culture and, especially, as it pertains to those of us who attend public worship. Join Rev. Michelle and Sara Hutton for this special parish-wide workshop after worship on October 2.

    Page Turners Book Club At their recent meeting the book club decided to move their meetings to the first Thursday of the month at 2 p.m., in the parish hall. For the October 8th meeting, the book selection is, ‘A Slow Fire Burning’, by Paula Hawkins. Upcoming books are: Nov 3-‘The Sweetness of Water’, by Nathan Harris; Dec 1-‘Horse’, by Geraldine Brooks.

    Safe Church Training: Many ministries in the church require this training. Please speak directly with Rev. Michelle today to register for in-person workshops on Saturday, Oct 22 at St. John’s.

    St. John’s Harvest: Feeding people is our jam!
    Join us in the kitchen to clean, chop, stir, and make cool stuff on the last Saturday of the month from 10-5. No experience necessary. Hands of all ages welcome. Show up for shifts of 2, 4, or 6 hours, and let’s have fun while we raise money for St. John’s! Clear your calendar and come to help on Saturday, Oct. 22. Sale dates: Nov 20 and Dec 11

    St. John’s Forum – Nov 13: The Story of Historic Kingston, with Stephen Blauweiss. Join us after worship for a presentation by local author and producer Stephen Blauweiss whose passion for telling the story of Kingston led him to publish his most recent book, The Story of Historic Kingston. Stephen will be selling books at this event too!

    Stewardship Campaign: October 23 – November 13
    Recommitment, Renewal, and Reconciliation. These are the words on our Stewardship banner at the back of the Sanctuary. For the past year, we have been using these themes to look at our lives in the Gospel. Now, this coming year, we will be Continuing the Journey of Recommitment, Renewal, and Reconciliation by revisiting our Mission Statement and the Stewardship of our Mission. During these 4 weeks, we will listen to people talk about the Mission of St. John’s and their reasons for pledging to support it. If you’re new to St. John’s or would like information about pledging, pick up a Stewardship flyer along with your bulletin.

    Social Hour Hosting: You are invited to sign up on the bulletin board in the Vestibule to be a social hour host! Talk with our Hospitality Coordinator, Barbara Johnston for more information.

    Calling all bakers! Our Communion Bread recipe is easy and quick. You bake one batch, deliver the bread to the church, and we keep it in the freezer until we use it. Sign up to bake for a month (or two) this year. The sign-up sheet is on the Vestibule bulletin board and so is the recipe.

    Have an announcement for the bulletin?
    Please send by Wednesday at noon to
    stjohnskingston@aol.comAnchor.

  2. September 23, 2022

    St. John’s Events This Week and Next!

    We hope you will come out and for these community-building events at St. John’s. Service work, Christian learning, celebration, and reflection opportunities for people of all ages.
    Click here for a full list of upcoming St. John’s Events

    Saturday, Sept 24: St. John’s Harvest Cooking Day
    Last year, parishioners gathered in the St. John’s Kitchen during the fall to help prepare all kinds of canned goods as a way of having fun together and it turned into a successful fundraiser to help with our operating expenses Let’s do it again! All ages are welcome to help chop, stir, and peel, while we share in laughter and community. This Saturday in the St. John’s Kitchen between 10-5. Come for an hour or two, or the entire day. Rev. Michelle will make sure everyone has lunch.

    Sunday, Sept 25: St. John’s Forum: When the Saints Come Marching In!
    After worship on Sept 25, stay for our St. John’s Forum Series and learn more about how the saints of the Christian faith are celebrated in the Episcopal Church. Rev. Michelle will present history and offer insight into the lives of the saints, why we call them saints, what a saint’s feast day is, and how they can be a part of our spiritual lives. St. John’s Forum Series happens this fall on the last Sunday of the month.

    Sunday, Oct 2: Celebrating St. Francis

    We start the month of October off with All Ages Worship on Oct 2 at 10am – A specially designed worship service to help engage younger parishioners through story and other activities. All parishioners are asked to bring your pet mementos, photos, and stuffed animals to church where we will ask God’s blessing on our beloved animals. Sorry, no live-pet blessings this year!

    Sunday, Oct 2: Parish-wide Workshop – The Impact of Gun Violence on Churches
    The increase of gun violence in our culture often results in a political discussion about gun rights. But how does this very real phenomenon impact our willingness to attend public activities and functions, like Christian worship? As people who follow Jesus, one who tells us to welcome the stranger in our midst, it is incredibly important for us to spend time discussing the specter of gun violence in our culture and the emotional toll it takes on us as churchgoers. Rev. Michelle and Sara Hutton will lead this special parish-wide workshop after worship on October 2.

    Click here to learn more about upcoming St. John’s Events so you can plan your time this fall.

    ________________________________________________________________

    Silos – Security or Immobility?

    I attended a meeting this past week in which many talented, smart, and earnest people were invited to consider working together because all of them had the same essential goal. And I observed how difficult it was for each of them to see beyond their own program in order to envision something else.

    We call this being in a silo. Silos are those tall, round structures on farms where grain is stored. And they are good things. They keep food safe for long periods of time. But silos can also be places where we become stuck or stagnant. Immobile.

    There is a phenomenon called “grain entrapment” or “grain engulfment.” It most frequently occurs in grain silos when grain shifts beneath someone’s feet. Entrapment describes when someone is partially submerged and cannot get out without assistance, and engulfment describes when someone has been completely submerged. Engulfment has a very high mortality rate.

    Why am I talking about this? Because our tendency as humans is to confuse ourselves with the grain and stay within silos we have built. It makes some sense for us to do this. The world can be so overwhelming that, if we don’t focus ourselves and our own needs/wants/goals, we can get distracted, unfocused, and unable to effect any change or even maintain our own lives.

    But I hope the description of grain entrapment helps us understand that the silo can also be a very dangerous place to stay. Grain will shift. It always does. Our lives cannot stay the same because the world around us is in almost constant motion. And we will always need assistance from someone else to be freed from our own silos. We cannot do life alone.

    I think about the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures – especially Jeremiah, of whom we have been reading lately on Sundays – and I know that so many people really didn’t think of them as bringers of good news. They often pointed out the ways in which human beings become trapped in our own ideas of progress so that we forget what really matters. And they all reported being persecuted because people didn’t like what they said.

    My point is that we can get so stuck in our own preferred habits that, not only do we refuse to accept help, but we even have the audacity to get angry when someone points out that we are stuck. And this extends to organizations, especially those who have missions to serve others. Places in which people have taken so much care in creating something which they believe will help others that they often cannot see beyond this “something” to see the ways in which God may be calling them to new life.

    The silo is there to store the grain and keep it safe. It was never designed to support the ever-changing, vibrant life God has given us to live.

    How is God calling you out of your silo?
    How is God calling us out of our collective silos?

    In God’s love and mine,
    Rev. Michelle

    ____________________________________________________________

    Announcements for the Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost
    September 25, 2022

    THIS SUNDAY: St. John’s Forum: When the Saints Come Marching In – Stay after worship for an exploration of how the saints are celebrated in the Episcopal Church with Rev. Michelle.

    NEXT WEEK: Parish-wide Workshop: The Impact of Gun Violence on Churches This workshop is designed to help us all discuss the impact of gun violence on the culture and, especially, as it pertains to those of us who attend public worship. Join Rev. Michelle and Sara Hutton for this special parish-wide workshop after worship on October 2.

    Celebrating St. Francis: On October 2, bring your stuffed animals or your pet mementos to church where we will perform a blessing on them. Sorry, no live-pet blessings this year!

    Safe Church Training: Many ministries in the church require this training. See Rev. Michelle for more information. In-person workshops will be held on Saturday, Oct 22 at St. John’s.

    St. John’s Harvest: Feeding people is our jam!
    Join us in the kitchen to clean, chop, stir, and make cool stuff on the last Saturday of the month from 10-5. No experience necessary. Hands of all ages welcome. Show up for shifts of 2, 4, or 6 hours, and let’s have fun while we raise money for St. John’s! Remaining Cooking Days: Oct. 29. Sale dates: Nov 20 and Dec 11

    Social Hour Hosting: You are invited to sign up on the bulletin board in the Vestibule to be a social hour host! Talk with our Hospitality Coordinator, Barbara Johnston for more information.

    Page Turners Book Club At their recent meeting the book club decided to move their meetings to the first Thursday of the month at 2 p.m., in the parish hall. For the October 8th meeting, the book selection is, ‘A Slow Fire Burning’, by Paula Hawkins. Upcoming books are: Nov 3-‘The Sweetness of Water’, by Nathan Harris; Dec 1-‘Horse’, by Geraldine Brooks.

    Have an announcement for the bulletin?
    Please send by Wednesday at noon to
    stjohnskingston@aol.com

  3. September 10, 2022

    Tomorrow! Ukraine Benefit

    Arts & Crafts Sale opens at 3:00 pm and the Concert begins at 4:00 pm.
    Join us in helping this amazing organization – Voices of Children. They offer psychological support for children in Ukraine.

    Click here to purchase tickets for tomorrow’s Ukraine Benefit!

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    Updating Our Masking Policy


    We have been through so much with the COVID pandemic, from online worship to hybrid worship to masking and distancing. We have done well, as a congregation, to honor one another’s safety all these many months. Thank you, all, for adhering to our policies. Caring for one another and helping one another to feel safe in worship is one of the most important things in Christian community.

    And now it’s time for us to take another step. Starting this Sunday, September 11, masks will be optional during worship at St. John’s. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to me. I’m happy to talk with you.

    I’ll see you tomorrow morning in the Sanctuary for worship and then at the Ukraine Benefit in the afternoon!

    In God’s love and mine,
    Rev. Michelle

    ________________________________________________________

    Announcements for the Fourteenth Sunday of Pentecost
    September 11, 2022

    This Sunday! Benefit Concert for Ukraine: Sunday, September 11
    Arts & Crafts Sale Opens at 3:00 pm and Concert begins at 4:00 pm. The Kingston Interfaith Council is hosting the event here at St. John’s.
    Get your tickets now at kingstoninterfaithcouncil.org/events

    NEXT WEEK: Godly Play returns to the St. John’s formation schedule and we are so excited! Every third Sunday, all kids are invited to join Leah Siuta in our Godly Play room upstairs above the Parish Hall. Then come back downstairs so we can all celebrate Eucharist together. Reach out to Leah for more information at jolejola4@msn.com

    Page Turners Book Club: The Page Turners book group will be meeting on September 13, at 7 pm, at Jeanette Baggot’s apartment. We’ll be discussing everyone’s favorite summer reads and selecting what to read for the next few months. New members are always welcome. Speak to Jeanette, Claudette Ford, or Barbara Johnston for more information about the September meeting, or the book club in general.

    Social Hour Hosting: You are invited to sign up on the bulletin board in the Vestibule to be a social hour host! Talk with our Hospitality Coordinator, Barbara Johnston for more information.
    St. John’s Harvest: Feeding people is our jam!
    Join us in the kitchen to clean, chop, stir, and make cool stuff on the last Saturday of the month from 10-5. Last year, we canned jams, chutney, and conserves; made Sara’s soap, hand sanitizer, and Jocelyn’s amazing Beeswax wraps! No experience necessary. Hands of all ages welcome. Show up for shifts of 2, 4, or 6 hours, and let’s have fun while we raise money for St. John’s!
    Cooking/Prep Days: Sept. 24, and Oct. 29
    Sale dates: Nov 20 and Dec 11

    Flower Ministry: Every week, members of St. John’s offer a memorial of thanksgiving or honor a loved one who has gone before by supporting the Flower Ministry at St. John’s with a monetary donation. You’ll see this memorial listed in the bulletin each week. This ministry ensures we have lovely fresh flowers every week on our altar. Please consider signing up for a Sunday. Contact Elaine Lawrence at eslawrenc@aol.com

    Calling all bakers! Do you like to make things in the kitchen? Our Communion Bread recipe is easy and quick. You bake one batch, deliver the bread to the church, and we keep it in the freezer until we use it. Sign up to bake for a month (or two) this year. The sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board in the Vestibule.

    Have an announcement for the bulletin?
    Please send by Wednesday at noon to
    stjohnskingston@aol.com

  4. September 3, 2022

    St. John’s Fall Calendar

    We’re planning all kinds of activities and events for the fall and we’re especially looking forward to the return of Godly Play to our parish calendar. Read below and reach out to Rev. Michelle with any questions you have! Look for more information on all of these events in The Good News from St. John’s Kingston. Please note that more events may be added as we move through the year.

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    Click here to purchase tickets to next week’s Ukraine Benefit!

    ________________________________________________

    Returning to the Sanctuary… with Gratitude

    This week (Sept 4) is our last week worshipping in the Parish Hall for summer worship. The weather has turned a bit, we can feel fall in the air, and our beloved sanctuary is awaiting us.

    So, on September 11 we will return to the sanctuary for Sunday worship and celebrate the official beginning of our fall events calendar. The choir will be together to lead us in song and we’ll worship with the beauty of our stained glass around us.

    Our Director of Music, Terry Earles, has been hard at work getting some repair done on our 100+ year-old Estey organ. Terry’s friend and our sometime supply organist, Dale Ziegenfelder, who is an expert in organ repair, has been working with Terry over the summer. They have worked on the pistons and the pedals. They have cleared and cleaned the pipes. They have reconnected the tremulant (a device that regulates the air flow through the pipes). And, last but not least, they moved the pedal board (the platform that Terry and the organ console sit on) and discovered that over the years people have dropped pencils and other small items. and tried reclaiming them by shoving brooms and other items under the pedal board causing damage the wiring that is there. So, they also fixed the wiring.

    They did all this during a very hot, humid summer with no air conditioning. Phew! What a gift of ministry! And Dale has done all of this work as a gift to us. Please join me in thanking Terry and Dale for all of their faithful work this summer to help us all praise God with our voices in song.

    I’ll see you tomorrow in the Parish Hall and next week in the Sanctuary.

    In God’s love and mine,
    Rev. Michelle

    _____________________________________________________

    Announcements for the Thirteenth Sunday of Pentecost
    September 4, 2022

    NEXT WEEK! Benefit Concert for Ukraine: Sunday, September 11
    Arts & Crafts Tent Opens at 3:00 pm and Concert begins at 4:00 pm. The Kingston Interfaith Council is hosting the event here at St. John’s. We’ll need many hands on deck to help that afternoon. If you can help with set-up on Saturday, Sept 10, please let Rev. Michelle know!
    Get your tickets now at kingstoninterfaithcouncil.org/events

    Page Turners Book Club: The Page Turners book group will be meeting on September 13, at 7 pm, at Jeanette Baggot’s apartment. We’ll be discussing everyone’s favorite summer reads and selecting what to read for the next few months. New members are always welcome. Speak to Jeanette, Claudette Ford, or Barbara Johnston for more information about the September meeting, or the book club in general.

    Social Hour Hosting: You are invited to sign up on the bulletin board in the Vestibule to be a social hour host! Talk with our Hospitality Coordinator, Barbara Johnston for more information.

    Feeding people is our jam! St. John’s Harvest is back! Join us in the kitchen to clean, chop, stir, and make cool stuff on the last Saturday of the month from 10-5. Last year, we canned jams, chutney, and conserves; made Sara’s soap, hand sanitizer, and Jocelyn’s amazing Beeswax wraps! No experience necessary. Hands of all ages welcome. Show up for shifts of 2, 4, or 6 hours, and let’s have fun while we raise money for St. John’s!  Mark your calendar: Sept. 24th, and Oct. 29th.

    Flower Ministry: Every week, members of St. John’s offer a memorial of thanksgiving or honor a loved one who has gone before by supporting the Flower Ministry at St. John’s with a monetary donation. You’ll see this memorial listed in the bulletin each week. This ministry ensures we have lovely fresh flowers every week on our altar. Please consider signing up for a Sunday. Contact Elaine Lawrence at eslawrenc@aol.com

    Calling all bakers! Do you like to make things in the kitchen? Our Communion Bread recipe is easy and quick. You bake one batch, deliver the bread to the church, and we keep it in the freezer until we use it. Sign up to bake for a month (or two) this year. The sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board in the Vestibule.

    Have an announcement for the bulletin?
    Please send by Wednesday at noon to
    stjohnskingston@aol.comAnchor.